Waiting for Superman to Pick Her Up in His Arms
by Empress of Everything
Summary: Or not, because Michelle Jones was not a fucking damsel in distress, thank you very much. {Post Homecoming}
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** I listened to Waiting for Superman by Daughtry about a million times on my flight and it made me think of all the MJ/Peter fics I'm addicted to and I just really wanted to write this. And this fifteen minute fic is better than anything I've actually put time and effort into recently and that's really depressing._

She wasn't a damsel in distress. She wasn't a dumb, vapid girl who only cared about makeup and clothes and boys and knew nothing about actual world issues. She read about the Sokovia Accords instead of Taylor Swift's newest romantic entanglement. She could handle herself, _thank you very much_ , and didn't need a half-priced dime store superhero in spandex tights to save her. Especially since he had other, actual threats to deal with, not the petty concerns and half-hearted threats to a high schooler.

Michelle Jones was a bona fide badass and Spider-Man needed to get that through his masked head right now, yesterday if he could manage that. His sudden, inexplicable hovering was getting really annoying, really fast. Her eyes had gotten accustomed to spotting red and blue hovering just outside her peripheral vision entirely too easily. She should be irritated, angered that he didn't think she could handle herself and that walking a teenage girl home was more important than helping little old ladies with directions. Honestly, priorities he had not.

Because, also, he wasn't as secretive or sneaky as he thought he was. MJ knew Spider-Man's secret identity. He and Ned didn't really know the meaning of indoor voices or actual subtle whispers. Plus the sudden appearance of Spider-Man on that class trip to D.C.? When Spider-Man was exclusively a Queens based hero? And Peter was nowhere in sight? Dead giveaway, Spidey. That everyone in Midtown, Queens and hell, fucking New York City, didn't know Peter Parker was Spider-Man was frankly rather boggling. Because he just wasn't subtle. At all. As her southern cousin liked to say, bless his dumb little heart.

But...as Spider-Man landed lightly on her fire escape for the third time that week, no doubt eager to tell her about his day like he'd begun doing recently, ever since the fifth week of seeing her home, MJ couldn't find it within her to be angry with him. Disappointed that he hadn't yet told her who he was, yes. That she was upset about. But the sudden protectiveness? Even though she didn't need it because she was a bona fide badass? She had to admit that was...kind of cute. That he'd even paid attention to her. Because in school he could barely talk to her, awkward teenage boy that he was.

So MJ found herself making excuses for Peter's constant disappearances. Blatant lies, they were not. She just...bent the truth. A teeny bit.

"He got caught up at the corner store he likes to go to so much, Flash, for the love of Austen, shut the fuck up and study your questions. Parker'll be here later, mind your own damn business."

"Parker said he had to run and do laundry or his Aunt would actually kill him, Coach Wilson, that's why he's not in detention. Why am I in detention when I don't have it? Gee, what a question. I just enjoy watching faces in crisis. It feeds the darkness in my soul."

"Stark Internship. Because no, he wasn't actually lying about that even though we all thought he was. Flash, shut the fuck up and study."

When asked why she knew all of Peter's excuses and location, MJ just smirked. "I'm a connoisseur of human folly. And Peter Parker is a prime source of amusement to me." Ned never questioned her on the subject again.

She wasn't a Lois Lane. She never could or would be or ever fucking wanted to be in that position. She would never be Liz Allen or Gwen Stacy or Peggy Carter or any other superhero girlfriend. She wasn't pretty enough or needy enough or weak enough or nice enough. The damsel in distress role didn't suit her. She was Michelle Jones: activist, decathlon captain, high schooler with big dreams, lover of tea, fighter, BAMF, and sort of friends but not really friends with Spider-Man AKA Peter Parker. (Though, granted, Peggy Carter was another certified BAMF so she wouldn't mind being a bit like her.) She was her own person and did not need a superhero to validate her existence.

So she would keep Peter's secret. And when he did finally break down and tell her his 'secret identity', she would only yell at him a little bit. Or a lot. Depending on how much she wanted to scare him. Because that's what friends did.

And MJ was loyal to her friends. Even if they did fight crime in blue and red tights, because honestly who's stupid design choice was that, do you not have functioning eyes, dumbass, really?


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I wasn't planning on writing a second chapter for this, but it just sort of...happened. Besides I adore MJ and Peter so, so much. I need more of their interactions like a person needs water. MCU, you better deliver._

 _Also I'm on break for another three days, which I why I've been updating so much, lol. Hopefully I can maintain some semblance of an updating schedule over the semester otherwise y'all aren't going to hear from me until spring break._

* * *

When Peter _finally_ tells her he's Spider-Man, MJ slaps his face so hard, his ears ring.

She then sighs, gently patted the cheek she'd just slapped with the faintest wrinkle of concern buried between her eyes, and asked if he wanted a cup of tea.

Befuddled but grateful, he accepts.

She told him she'd found out pretty early on and he isn't actually too surprised. MJ had always been one of the smartest people he knew. With very little prompting, Peter tells her all about being Spider-Man. The people he's helped, his one-sided chats with Happy, how his Aunt found out he was Spider-Man, Ned's fascination with the suit, Karen his AI, and Tony Stark's mentorship.

He doesn't talk about Liz.

Michelle might not have had any feelings toward Liz Allen, either positive or negative aside from 'hail, fellow womb bearer' but even she had to admit Peter's treatment of her was pretty shitty. Don't get her wrong; MJ loved Peter, the fucking bonehead, but dear heaven. He pines over the girl for months and months in the most obvious way. Stuttering and stammering and staring like the lovesick fool he was, he'd made Michelle want to vomit on a near daily basis from the sheer, sickening _purity_ of it all. It was like a scene out of a middle school romance novel. When he finally manages to get a date with her, _to Homecoming nonetheless_ , he, what? Blows it off because…?

At the time, MJ still had no idea Peter was Spider-Man, thus having no idea about the showdown that happened as he left the Homecoming dance. When he tells her, with a cautious, still shattered look in his dark eyes, about his fight with Vulture, Michelle goes very still.

Very still and _very_ quiet.

Peter could have died that night, _should_ have died that night. And not a single person in the world would have known until afterwards. He'd worn his old Spider-Man suit, not the high-tech monstrosity Tony Stark had given him, and it offered him _no_ protection. From what she understood, he had a healing factor that protected him and a sturdier body than the average person. But he _shouldn't_ have survived being crushed under a building, smashed through buses, and redirecting a crashing plane and the resulting explosion.

She came so close to losing Peter without even _knowing_ it.

Michelle feels the sudden urge to bitch slap Tony Stark.

Or burst out crying.

Or both.

Instead, she just hugs him tightly every time he comes to talk to her after a patrol. He doesn't question it, somehow sensing she needed this reassurance that he's still alive, and hugs her back just as tight.

Eventually, ( _she should've anticipated this_ ), Peter takes her to meet the other Avengers. He's squirrelly the entire trip upstate. He's chatty, bouncing around the back of the car, and so very _nervous_ , she can see it pouring out of his eyes. Even Happy sees it. Her hand brushes his for a moment and Peter flinches so hard, the air shivers.

He's nervous, understandably so. Who wouldn't be nervous when introducing Earth's Mightiest Heroes to a short, freckled girl with too many opinions from Queens? Peter's probably wondering if upstate New York will survive the fallout. She'd already promised not to question Tony Stark on his former arms dealer status, but everything else was fair game.

He shouldn't have been so nervous. MJ is perfectly polite, though the barbs she exchanges with the Black Widow send Peter into paroxysms of frantic waving and throat-slashing gestures. Thor likes her and pats her back so hard she nearly went flying across the room, Captain America was just as tall and drop-dead gorgeous as his pictures had shown, and she doesn't punch Tony Stark in the face like she planned. Instead, she steals his peanut butter bagel and curls up next to Peter, a gloating smirk on her lips.

The Avengers are impressed by the sheer cast-iron balls on this tiny girl; the way she looks at Peter with exasperation and love so obvious in her eyes, she might as well have been holding up a blinking neon sign that screamed " _I LOVE PETER PARKER_ ". The addition of Peter into their jaded, old ranks is like a breath of fresh air. Sam pulls Tony aside at one point, despite their disagreements, and tells him to keep the boy and the faithful MJ safe.

"If anything happens to them," he warns. "We'll be seeing how well the world does without Iron Man. Make sure they stay safe, Stark."

Watching the two interact, Tony is inclined to agree. Peter has never seemed so at ease around any of them. But with Michelle Jones by his side, he's laughing, joking, sharing stories of the people he's helped, and seemed totally relaxed. The girl in question hung over his shoulder, hassling him and making him laugh.

The sheer sappy love vibes rolling off the two was almost sickening but…cute in a way. Yes, he thought, they needed each other like a drowning man needed air. And he would do his best to keep them together.

* * *

 _A/N: Aw, Dad Tony towards the end there. ;) Leave a review if you liked it!_


End file.
